Bad Taste
by heartlandiansoisle
Summary: Lou and Mitch go on a vacation, but it doesn't go as well as they hoped it would. A/N: Set after 12x11. I just got this idea after I saw that Michelle won't probably be on set for the first block. I didn't like how they did the whole season 12 wedding thing, but this idea kind of came to me and I thought I'd write it and share it in case someone wants to read it. ONE-SHOT.


"Come on, Lou", Mitch tried to plead when they arrived to their room, dragging their luggage with them. "It was a honest mistake, I'm sure."

Lou stormed into the room and shoved her bag aside, then turning around to face Mitch who almost got slammed right across his face by the shutting door because Lou had not bothered to help keeping it open.

"Didn't you say you had taken care of it?" Lou asked. "I think you did, because that is the whole reason why I decided to go on this vacation in the first place. That was humiliating!"

"It's not that bad. And besides, I think we needed this time for each other after everything that's happened", Mitch said, pushing through and putting his luggage down, letting the door close after him.

"Yeah, I know, I know", Lou said, sighing and closing her eyes. She was trying not to freak out but she was tired and already a little on the edge because of all the arrangements she had had to make by coming here. "But... still. It's not like _we both_ picked this place, is it?"

"Yeah, but... who doesn't like Hawaii?" Mitch tried to sooth Lou with a grin. "Even you said you had never been to Hawaii."

"I know - I haven't - but... Maybe this was a mistake", Lou thought out loud. "Maybe we should have just changed the tickets and gone someplace else. I mean, what happened at the front desk - I feel like it's a sign!" she gestured toward the direction they had just came from.

"So the clerk called you Mrs. Cutty - so what?" Mitch shrugged and tried to play it off like it wasn't a big deal. "Could have been worse; our reservation could have been cancelled, and we would have no place to stay, our luggage could have gone missing-"

"Not because it was a misunderstanding, but because you were supposed to come here with Maya", Lou pointed out, frustrated how carelessly Mitch was taking all this. "God, why did I even agree to this? I mean, who agrees to go to a place where your boyfriend was supposed to take their wife. I must be crazy."

"Come on, Lou", Mitch said, coming closer and pulling Lou gently against himself, planting a kiss on her lips. She sighed. "It was just one minor inconvenience. From this moment on, it'll just be me and you. You and me. No more Maya hovering above us. Okay?"

Lou looked Mitch into his piercing blue eyes. "How do I know you're not just thinking about her all the time?" she pouted. "You two were supposed to come here, weren't you? Maybe you already had planned out what you were going to do with her as newlyweds."

"I didn't", Mitch said, honestly. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have even suggested this... I just thought that since I have the tickets, why not use them when we could both use a break from our lives. I know it's not ideal, but I promise you, I'm not thinking about Maya. I'm thinking about you. That's why you're the one here with me and not her. Besides, since we are here, why don't we just make most of it. No more moping, please?"

"I'm not moping..." Lou said, even though maybe she was a little. "I mean, I have reasonable concerns, don't I? You called off your wedding not too long ago."

"Maybe it's a little too late for that now. You're the one who pulled me into a kiss after I had called off my wedding - the time for concerns is behind us now", Mitch said and kept kissing Lou, hoping she would realize that this vacation was not meant for arguing but spending time together and hoping to make up for the time they had loss by pretending they no longer had feelings for one another.

With every kiss, the jealousy in Lou started to rinse off. Mitch seemed pleased and gently pressed Lou against the wall as their kiss became more intense. It didn't take a genius to know where this was headed.

But when Lou pressed against the wall, her back accidentally turned on the light and the mood in the room changed. They were soon surrounded by tacky red lighting and a shiny disco ball started spinning at the ceiling, setting little dots of light around them as romantic music began playing. It all made them both alarmed as it was not what they had expected.

Lou looked around, wondering what was happening and if they had triggered some kind of alarm, but instead saw a bed covered in rose petals and on the night stand there was a picture of Mitch and Maya where she was kissing his cheek and he was taking the selfie. At the end of the bed, there was a bottle of champagne placed in an icy bucket.

She sighed. "You gotta be kidding me... I mean, a picture of you two- how is this even possible?!" Lou gestured toward the picture.

"Oh..." If the lighting had not made Mitch red already, then his embarrassment sure did. "I didn't remember they asked us to send a picture for the suite... I guess to surprise us."

"Well, they sure did a good job with that", Lou scoffed. Her mood had suddenly dropped again. "You know what, I was almost ready to forgive the clerk calling me Mrs. Cutty, but this... I can't deal with this. Maya's judging me even when she's not here! - I need some air..."

Lou moved Mitch out of the way using her body and he let her walk. She headed toward the balcony and stepped outside.

Mitch sighed and looked around. It was ridiculous how he had made the effort to change the names under the reservation, but there had been some kind of misunderstanding at the desk and they had not been updated.

And now this.

He turned off the light and went to flip the picture of him and Maya in order to try to save what little there was to save. The gentle ocean breeze pushed inside from the balcony doors and she followed Lou there, hoping she would not push her away again. Things were finally falling into place, and they were finally back on, but if this would be too much for Lou, maybe they would be off again.

Lou leaned on the railing and watched the ocean and its waves hitting the beach. Everything here felt like a paradise from the trees to the colour of the ocean, and yet, she felt like she couldn't properly enjoy it.

"Lou... I'm so sorry..." Mitch tried.

"Do you think maybe getting back together this fast was wrong?" Lou asked, lost in thought. "I mean, barely anyone knows that we are back together. And I've had to avoid talking to Jen at work in case she can somehow read it from me that I'm back to dating you. Imagine if she told Maya... What would she even think about us..." Lou shook her head. "This always happens to me; I end up in situations where I'm too afraid to tell anyone I'm dating the man I'm dating. I mean, the sneaking around can be exciting, but eventually it has to end."

Mitch was confused as he walked next to her. "I thought it was what you wanted - that we'd wait until we'll make this official. Let the dust settle."

"I know, I know, but... lately I just feel like I haven't been able to think straight", Lou admitted, feeling embarrassed. "I guess I just didn't want anyone to think that I was the reason you called off the wedding. That I'd be some kind of... other woman."

She frowned at the thought of it. It was never who she had wanted to be; that was one of the reasons why she had doubted the whole running to stop the wedding thing in the first place.

"Well, you weren't", Mitch said. "I made the decision all by myself. And besides... if there ever was that "other woman", then it was Maya. Not knowingly, it was my fault, I admit that. I shouldn't have gotten involved with her, she didn't deserve what I did to her", he reflected. "I rushed into the relationship too fast and it was crazy to think that I could marry her without properly even knowing how we work as a couple. I'm not proud of it. You're not the only one who has not been able to think straight lately. I guess it's just... this thing between us. Ever since I met you, I haven't been able to think straight. It's like you're all I ever think about, and then when I thought we couldn't be together, it's like I lost my mind at the thought of that and thought someone like Maya could somehow fix me. But that's not her job."

Lou looked at him and listened. She kind of knew what he meant. Ever since coming back to Heartland from New York, Mitch had been all she had ever thought about. Even though she had kind of made some kind of peace with him moving on and then marrying someone else, there was a part in her that would have always considered Mitch the one that got away in case he had not called off the wedding.

"I guess I just feel bad too..." Lou admitted. "That because of our pride and because of all the mess we created between us, with me being in New York and you thinking I was still hooked on Peter... I don't know... I guess I'm afraid of people judging us. I mean, they don't know what's between us, they don't know our feelings. They only see the mess we've created out of this relationship, but it's not a mess when we're together. It's just... complicated. And yet, when I'm with you, it's so simple and it's so clear what I'm feeling."

"I don't care what others think", Mitch finally said. "I care what you think, Lou. If this is what we both want, who cares how we got here. What matters is that we are finally here and if this is what we really wanted all along, we shouldn't let little things get in our way. Not anymore."

"Little things like us having a suite that was meant for you and your almost-wife...?" Lou checked.

"Yeah, okay, we'll go and ask for another room", Mitch admitted, "but when we've done that, can we just agree to enjoy each other's company and this beautiful island we've come to? Because I don't want to waste one more minute of us being happily together when it's finally _actually _happening."

Lou smiled a little. "Okay..." she promised.

She took his hand and stepped closer, leaning on him. Mitch wrapped his other arm around her and for a while they just stared at the beach, wondering how something this beautiful could even exist.


End file.
